Integrated circuits consume electricity when they are in use and, as with most devices that consume electricity, a large amount of the energy consumed is converted into heat. If the heat is allowed to build up inside of the integrated circuit, then it can damage the integrated circuit itself. If the build up of heat within the integrated circuit is great enough, then it can cause the integrated circuit to fail immediately. However, even lesser amounts of heat, if allowed to repeatedly or continually remain within the integrated circuit, can damage the integrated circuit over time. Thus, controlling the amount of heat that builds up within the integrated circuit is of vital importance to the proper operation and lifespan of the integrated circuit.
As the term is used herein, “integrated circuit” includes devices such as those formed on monolithic semiconducting substrates, such as those formed of group IV materials like silicon or germanium, or group III-V compounds like gallium arsenide, or mixtures of such materials. The term includes all types of devices formed, such as memory and logic, and all designs of such devices, such as MOS and bipolar. The term also comprehends applications such as flat panel displays, solar cells, and charge coupled devices.
Many aspects of modern integrated circuit fabrication and design tend to accentuate the problem of heat within the integrated circuit. For example, many integrated circuits are encapsulated within packages that are formed of materials that do not conduct thermal energy very well, and thus tend to trap the heat within the packaged device. Further, devices are becoming smaller and faster as time goes on. Smaller devices tend to concentrate a given amount of thermal energy within a smaller space, which makes it generally more difficult to dissipate the heat through a larger surface area. Faster devices tend to generate thermal energy as a faster rate, thus allowing heat to build up faster and to a higher temperature, if the thermal energy cannot be removed faster than it is created.
What is needed, therefore, is a system that helps overcome problems such as those described above, at least in part.